


All This Time

by QualityRachni



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/F, MGiT, Modern Girl in Thedas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2019-01-23 19:40:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12515056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QualityRachni/pseuds/QualityRachni
Summary: Clara Trevelyan is a normal girl from the West Coast of Scotland. She didn't ask to be thrust into the events of her favourite computer game, but here she is, nonetheless. How will she cope as the Herald of Andraste? Will she flourish, flounder, or fail completely when faced with such a gargantuan task?





	All This Time

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first foray into the Modern Girl in Thedas trope. I absolutely love it, and have yet to find one where the MGiT gets with Cassandra, so call this self indulgent wish fulfilment if you will. Its an improvement on it's working title of Self Indulgent Wankery!
> 
> Shout out goes to Ciia'ana Lavellan, and the rest of the Wolf Pack on Discord. You ladies are amazing and Solas loves all ya'll.

My name is Clara Trevelyan, I’m 28, and from a small town in Scotland. On Earth.  
If you are reading this, then you; like me, have awoken in a world you thought was fictional. It most definitely isn’t. This world is real and will hurt you if you do not take proper precautions.  
Please, listen to my tale; so that at least one true account of the Herald of Andraste is heard.

The night I arrived in Thedas had been like any other. I had arrived home from work, changed into pyjamas, and made dinner before settling in my usual spot on the couch; laptop on, and Netflix in the background. How I got here is still unclear.  
I remember turning all the lights off on my way to bed, and sinking down into the mattress. After that… nothing. That is, until I awoke chained to the floor in the Haven Chantry dungeon; Cassandra glaring down at me like an avenging angel, sword pointed at my throat.

“Tell me why we shouldn’t kill you now?!” the warrior demanded of me, her sword mere inches away from my nose. I could smell the iron, and the faint metallic tang of blood on the sword. I had to be dreaming.  
“Cause this is a dream, and you can’t die in your dreams.” I replied, my tone light and flippant. This wasn’t the first time I’d dreamt about Dragon Age characters, but definitely the first time I’d dreamt about being the Herald.  
“You’re lying! Explain this!” she demanded, grabbing me by the wrist. A sickly green energy crackled across my palm, accompanied by a searing pain. Oh shit… it can’t be, I thought to myself. You couldn’t feel pain in dreams. That much I knew.  
“I… I can’t!” I protested, meeting Cassandra’s eyes for the first time since she began questioning me. Fury burned bright within her whiskey coloured eyes, pinning me to the spot with her gaze. I wanted to look away, but found myself unable to.  
“Where am I… what happened? Who are you people?” I asked, despite knowing the answer to all three questions. I knew I couldn’t reveal that I was from another world. At least, not right now whilst shackled to the floor, with an angry woman brandishing a blade at me.

Leliana chose that moment to make her presence known. She peeled herself from the shadows, her voice soft and dangerous; making me jump, despite knowing that she was there. “Enough, Cassandra. She tells the truth. We need her.”  
My brow furrowed, “Need me for what?” The warrior huffed, sheathing her blade with a soft snick.  
“It would be easier to show you.” she conceded, motioning to one of the guards to release me. I carefully rose to my feet, pins and needles suddenly coursing down my legs. I fucking hated that feeling, but hey, after being forced to kneel for god knows how long, what can you expect?  
My freedom was short lived as coarse hempen rope was tied around my wrists. Great… I was definitely going to have an outbreak of eczema on my wrists after this. Hell, I didn’t even know if Thedas had anything that could deal with that, let alone the rest of my allergies.

Cassandra lead me outside, the sky was the same sickly green colour as the crack on my palm, which, as luck would have it, decided to flare up right at that very moment, bringing me to my knees. “Shit…” I winced, accepting the Seeker’s help, letting her guide me through the village. I was too busy taking in the sights as we headed out to take in what she was saying; but after playing the game so many times I knew it was something along the lines of ‘blah blah they need your guilt, blah blah, fair trial.” I nodded; it was important to at least seem like I was listening to Seeker Grouchy No Pants. If looks could kill, then I’d have died several times over with the glares I was getting from the people of Haven. I wanted to tell them it was Coryphishit who was to blame, but I bit my tongue. Fuck knows that would go down well.

Upon reaching the road, Cassandra released me from my bonds with a warning not to run away. “I have no weapons, and I want to help. Not to mention, I have no idea where I am.” I pointed out to her. “You’re stuck with me.” I added, grinning at her, which gained me one of her trademark groans of disgust.  
“So… Seeker. I just realised that I don’t actually know your name.” Teeny bit of a lie there, but I had to get us to introductions somehow, right?  
The warrior rolled her eyes, “I am Cassandra Pentaghast, Seeker of the Chantry. And you are?” she prompted me.  
“Clara Trevelyan, uh. Of nowhere in particular.” I said, huffing a stray strand of hair out of my face. I wish I’d had the sense to tie it back before heading to bed. Cassandra raised one of her perfectly arched eyebrows at me, “I thought the Trevelyans were from Ostwick?” she asked, suspicion colouring her tone.  
“The rich ones are, aye. I’m a distant cousin, as you can probably tell. I was born in Starkhaven. Moved around a lot since then.” I explained, extremely thankful for a handy reason for my broad Scottish accent. She seemed to accept this with a nod and resumed leading us up the mountain path. I stumbled a few times, as expected from my memories of the game.  
The real trial, however, came when we tumbled down the frozen river bank after a stray Fadeor (fade meteor ofc) obliterated the bridge and sent us tumbling.

Demons slithered and jerked their way to our position, Cassandra swiftly pulled herself up, sword and shield drawn, a battle cry sounding from her lips as she rushed to meet our assailants.  
My heart stuttered within my chest as I frantically looked around for a weapon, a shade making its way to me. Fuck fuck fuck… there was always a weapon within arms length in the game… but this wasn’t a game, as I had to keep reminding myself.  
The demon came closer, swiping at me with long hooked claws. I threw my hands up in defence of myself, flames shooting out from my palms and leaving my head reeling.  
I was a fucking mage?!  
I dropped and rolled awkwardly to the side, probably looking like a seal in the snow. However, in my mind, it of course looked super cool. I whispered my thanks to Andraste as I picked up the discarded staff that lay just below the fresh flurry of snow.  
Try as I might, I wasn’t able to replicate that same cone of flames I’d produced, and instead, resorted to whacking the demons with my new staff like it was a blunt instrument.  
The battle ended, and soon Cassandra was looming over me, demanding that I drop my weapon. I knew that rationally, I should not find this as attractive as I did, but damn… “Alright… I’m dropping it…” I said, letting the staff drop from my grasp, landing in the snow with a soft thud. The Seeker sighed, “Wait… I cannot protect you. And I should remember that you came willingly.” Aww yeah. I bit my lip to suppress a grin as I bent down to retrieve my new staff. I’d have to come up with a name for it. What? I like naming my possessions. Gives them a tie to me. Yeah, I know that sounds crazy now that I’ve written it down.

Cassandra eventually lead me to the platform where Varric and Solas were fighting with a couple of unnamed Inquisition soldiers against a fade rift that was vomiting demons onto the snow. We rushed in to join the fray, Solas grabbing my arm and barking at me to seal it before more came through.  
Upon sealing the rift, I snatched my arm back, cradling it against my chest and pouting. Damn Dread Wolf had two years before he stole my arm for good. Couldn’t he just wait?  
“My arm…” I grumbled, no doubt looking like a complete child in front of three of my favourite characters. Varric was the first to break the silence, “Well shit, Chuckles, looks like you pissed the girl off by grabbing her.” the dwarf grinned. Solas raised an eyebrow, “My apologies.” he murmured, “My name is Solas, if there are to be introductions.” he offered. Huh. It didn’t happen like that in the game. I nodded, “Clara Trevelyan.” I replied, turning my attention to Varric, hoping he would pick up on my cue to introduce himself.  
“Varric Tethras, rogue, storyteller, and unwanted tag-along.” he said with a flourish, a grin plastered across his face much to Cassandra’s chagrin; if her scowl was anything to go by.  
“Absolutely not.” she interrupted, right on cue.  
“Have you been in the valley lately, Seeker? You need me.” he stressed. His only reply was a huff from the stoic Seeker as she conceded that they did indeed need him. Especially with me being such a greenhorn when it came to combat.  
I grinned and clapped my hand, startling all three of my companions, “Great! So, shall we get moving before we turn into icicles?” I suggested.  
“Yes, let us make for the forward camp. Leliana is no doubt awaiting our arrival.” the Seeker responded, before striding off in the presumed direction of the camp. I grinned, waiting to see if Varric actually said one of my favourite lines; “Well… Bianca’s excited.” he rumbled, making me bite the inside of my cheek as I tried to stop myself grinning at him like an idiot.

Upon reaching the camp, which was little more than a haphazardous collection of tents in the middle of the Imperial Highway, we could already hear the thin reedy voice of Chancellor Roderick. Stupid, power grabbing twat that he was, of course tried to have me seized and taken to Val Royeaux to face trial. Thank fuck for Cass and Leliana having my back and deciding that I needed to help them. Thedas would have gone down the drain quicker than you could sing incy wincy spider if they had handed me over.  
Once again, I spaced out as they all argued over what to do. I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen to my flat… luckily, I didn’t have any family to miss me; but my landlord would certainly miss my rent payments, and my boss would notice I hadn’t come into work. Would they think I had run away, or been kidnapped? I was shaken from my thoughts as Cassandra nudged me, “I said, what do you think - should we take the mountain path, or charge with the forces?” she repeated herself, waiting for me to answer. I took a moment to think about it; in the game, I always took the mountain path so as to save the scouts who were pinned down by the rift just outside of the mining complex. I couldn’t remember what the other path was like, and also could not condemn actual real live people to a death that I knew was waiting for them if I did not take the mountain path. Sure, I wasn’t the greatest with heights, but I could deal with them.  
“We take the mountain path. We have to find those scouts.” I decided, my voice sounding stronger and more decisive than I actually felt in that moment.  
Leliana nodded, the glint in her sharp blue eyes seeming to agree with my assessment of the situation. “I will gather the remainder of our forces in the valley. Andraste guide you.” she said, turning away from us and making her way through the camp; soldiers parting as she made her way through the crowd.

The mountain path was brutal, and I developed a lifelong hatred for ladders. Stupid fucking rickety wooden pieces of shit that they were. If not for Varric trailing behind to catch my clumsy arse, I would have fallen to my death several times whilst climbing. I’m pretty sure that Cassandra thought I was the most useless person in the known world because of this, which was a shame; cause she was bloody gorgeous and I was a thirsty fangirl. Eventually though, we reached the ruins of the Temple of Sacred Ashes, the burnt out bodies contorted in their death throes. My stomach rebelled against me with each breath I took, the smell of scorched flesh permeated the air... if I could make it to the Breach and seal it, I knew I would pass out and therefore be unable to smell the charred corpses that currently surrounded me.

Cassandra pointed out the exact place where I had fallen out of the fade. I knew from playing the game so many times, that this was where Justinia had made it possible for me to escape, despite the fact that I had no physical memory of the event thanks to the Nightmare aspect in the Fade. Thanks to the wee shite, I had no idea how I’d actually ended up in Thedas; but I knew that upon working my way through Adamant, I would regain all of my memories, and perhaps find out how I had come to be within my favourite fictional universe.  
I nodded, continuing past the macabre frescos of Coryphshit’s victims, trying my hardest to block them out. I was vaguely aware of Varric commenting on the red lyrium as we descended into the site where the Breach resided. The ancient magister’s voice booming out around us, interjected with my demands to know what was happening, and Justinia’s plea for me to run and warn everyone else.  
Soon, we were facing the pride demon. It looked large on my TV screen, but it was nothing compared to the actual size of the creature.  
Imagine a pylon, except with horns, and purple, and with more electricity coursing through its body than necessary to power Glasgow, and you had your basic pride demon. R  
It was kinda fitting if you used the Glasgow analogy in my opinion, but that’s my pride for the best city in Scotland shining through more than anything.

 

We defeated the giant purple shite, and I closed the Breach as best as I could, succumbing to the effort as I knew would happen. When I awoke, it was to the jumpy Elven servant who had been given many different names in each of the fanfics I had read in recent years. Poor woman was too scared to give me her name, but pointed me in the right direction to the Chantry; ducking out with the excuse that Cassandra wanted to know “at once” when I was awake. I swung my legs from under the blankets and set the on the floor, standing up carefully. It was then that I noticed I had been dressed in the infamous Herald Pyjamas. Like in the game, they were a dull beige/grey colour, yet incredibly soft, which made it hard for me to hate the garment. I was a sucker for anything soft. Especially if it wasn’t wool.  
I carefully dressed myself, binding my breasts carefully within the breast band, sending off a silent thank you to Tamora Pierce for describing said garment so many times in her books. If I ever got home, I was sending her flowers. It certainly was no bra, but it was certain to keep my boobs from hindering my movements.

Once I was satisfied with my appearance, I slipped out of the cabin, finding my way to the Chantry, flanked by the very people who days earlier had called for my execution. My cheeks burned as I moved through the crowd, whispers of me apparently being the Herald of Andraste reaching my ears. Poor shites. I was just in the right place and the right time… there was nothing smacking of providence about my arrival in Thedas. 

Haven at least, was wide and open, much more so than the game had depicted in Inquisition.  
It kind of reminded me of its first incarnation in Origins; plenty of space between residential buildings, and even more space between the residential district and the space allocated to the various general stores before reaching the Chantry. This time, with less death and more hustle and bustle as the various residents of the village went about their business, stopping to do that weird bow/salute thing at me every so often. I wasn’t going to get used to that.  
I paused briefly in front of the giant oaken Chantry door, my hand resting on it before I took the plunge and entered the building.

I could, of course hear the muffled shouting of my least favourite stick in the mud berating me to Cassandra. I grinned, knowing that he was just about to get his arse handed to him by both hands of the Divine. It was with a grin on my face that I stepped through the door to the war room, not letting it falter as he ordered me chained for travel to the capital, again. I probably looked like the cat who got the cream right now as Cassandra explained to him that I was no longer a suspect. I may have let the grin grow larger as she concurred that he may be a suspect. Man, I hated that arsehole, he was such a shit stirrer.  
He left in a huff and my attention was brought back to Cassandra,  
“You said you wished to help us… is that still so?” she asked me, startling me with the difference in dialogue.  
“Yeah. The breach is still there and folks are still panicking and dying and all that. I’ll do what I can.” I said, my grin finally toning down to a normal smile. One that was returned briefly by the Seeker. I may or may not have blushed. Okay, I totally did, but only because, hello?! Motherfucking Cassandra Pentaghast smiled at me! Ugh, I’m so gay, it hurts.

After meeting my advisors for the first time, and managing to keep my tongue inside my head, because holy fuck, Josie was fucking gorgeous, the next few days passed pretty slowly. I guess that was part and parcel of actually being here, rather than it being a game.  
I took advantage of the time to get to know my companions properly. Varric was a blast. He taught me how to play Diamond Back and Wicked Grace, both of which, I picked up surprisingly easily. Surprising to me, cause games like that had never been my strong point. The dwarven rogue had always been a favourite of mine; he didn’t pry into my past, and ask questions about what I had done before the Conclave. It was almost as if he knew I had something to hide… I would have to be extremely careful in what I said in Varric’s presence.


End file.
